Science

Mosquitoes in traps are transported back to the county's laboratory for analysis.

Mosquito Hunters Set Traps Across Houston, Search for Signs of Zika

8:42am May 24, 2016

by Carrie Feibel

Harris County, Texas, operates one of the largest mosquito control operations in the country, with more than 50 people who trap, freeze and test mosquitoes for disease threats.

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A promo image for the Skunk Bear micro-doc, "Secrets Of The Snowy Owls."

We Followed A Snowy Owl From Maryland To Ontario

7:41am May 24, 2016

by Adam Cole

In the spring of 2015, a snowy owl named Baltimore was fitted with a backpack GPS transmitter. The data that transmitter collected over the past year shines a light on a mysterious species.

This 5,000-year-old funnel for beer-making was unearthed at a dig site in the Central Plain of China.

5,000-Year-Old Chinese Beer Recipe Revealed

5:53pm May 23, 2016

by Madeline K Sofia

Researchers discovered ancient "beer-making tool kits" in underground rooms built between 3400 and 2900 B.C. Analyses of funnels, pots and jugs show the brewers were using pretty advanced techniques.

What if a drug could knock out Staphylococcus aureus bacteria like these without disturbing the bacteria that help make you healthy?

Building An Antibiotic To Kill Bad Microbes While Sparing Good Ones

4:58pm May 23, 2016

by Madeline K. Sofia

Most antibiotics can't tell the difference between good and bad bacteria. That means medicines can kill helpful bacteria in your gut while they're obliterating the ones making you sick.

Inventing A Machine That Spits Out Drugs In A Whole New Way

3:36pm May 23, 2016

by Martha Bebinger

A refrigerator-sized machine could someday make lifesaving drugs on site when outbreaks occur or where medicine is in short supply, like on the battlefield.

Going There: The Future Of Water

12:15pm May 23, 2016

by Michel Martin

Western states like Colorado are balancing competing demands for waterways. When recreation, agriculture and civic interests find themselves at odds, how can water resources be divided fairly?

Villagers throw containers into a well to collect their daily supply of potable water after a tanker made its daily delivery in Shahapur, India, on May 13. India is in the midst of a drought.

A Warming World Means Less Water, With Economic Consequences

9:49am May 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

We know that climate change will make water scarcer. But it could also have big economic impacts, Richard Damania of the World Bank says.

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E.O. Wilson Goes To Washington

5:00pm May 22, 2016

by Andrea Seabrook

The Pulitzer Prize winner, who's known as the "father of biodiversity," is a scientific superstar. But now he's trying to convince Congress to set aside half the earth as wilderness.

With Drought The New Normal In The West, States Scramble To Prepare

5:00pm May 22, 2016

As the Colorado River dries out, the seven states that rely on this body of water risk water scarcity. Colorado state historian Patty Limerick discusses preparations for water scarcity in the West.

To Put An End To Her Daughter's Bullying, A Mother Takes A Page From Darwin

8:54am May 22, 2016

Leslie Blanchard worried her daughter might bully another child, and decided to nip it in the bud. She tells NPR's Rachel Martin how she did it.

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